Sterling's ex-City and England teammate comes to his defence: "Have some respect!"

Four days ago, Raheem Sterling debuted for Feyenoord in the Dutch side's 2-1 win over Telstar in the Dutch top flight. The Englishman clocked half an hour on the pitch and, according to reactions following the game, undoubtedly left an impression.

A poor one.

He failed to make any substantial contribution, easily losing possession and duels to the rivals. Even though he received ovations before his entry, it's safe to say that the crowd at De Kuip Stadium was disappointed.

Despite it being Sterling's first match since last May, people on social media had no mercy on him or his subpar performance, as the criticism kept pouring in.

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Still, if Raheem can be pleased about anything regarding his current situation, it's the fact that he now knows he has at least one true friend among his former teammates - Jack Grealish.

The current Everton player left a harsh comment on one of the posts criticizing Sterling, calling him "Bambi on ice".

"What a f*****g stupid Instagram post, man. What's wrong with you guys? Guy hasn't played or trained for so long. People like you guys are what's wrong with the world. Have some respect," Grealish wrote.

And every realistic football fan has to agree with him. After a nine-month absence from the pitch, even the best player in the world would need some time to re-adapt.

At the same time, publicly backing someone whose career is going south says a lot about a person. Grealish knows what it's like to be criticized and condemned, and that's why he decided to speak out, proving once again that he is a fantastic human being and a nice guy.